BY AUSTIN LYNCH
Monday 30th September, 1957 was a sad day for Enniskillen, and for every station and level crossing between Clones and Omagh from the Junction to Bundoran and from Enniskillen to Sligo.
For on that day, 50 years ago this month, the Great Northern Railway (GNR) (Ireland) and the Sligo Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway (SLNCR) closed for the last time.
The closure of the railways in this part of the country, and all the associated stations, meant that many people lost their jobs. But, for many employees, the railways were more than a job, it was their way of life and their closure was very emotional marking the end of a very special era.
One man who remembers that day like it was yesterday is William Gault, former SLNCR employee who worked at Florencecourt, Belcoo and Enniskillen stations.
William started working as a boy porter in Florencecourt station in around 1950. He was based there for a few years until, when he was about 19 or 20 years old, he was transferred to Enniskillen where he became a guard.
"I remember I rode my bike into work - a distance of about 14 miles each way - and I started work at 6.30am. As well as being a guard on the trains coming through the stations, I was involved in shunting wagons about the station," he recalled.
William was the guard on the 6.30am train on 30th September 1957, the last passenger train to leave Enniskillen.
"It was my sorriest day. I was sad to see the railways close. I would never have left (the railways)" William stated, pointing out that in those days there was no retirement age ('you could work on as long as you liked').
William would admit the pay wasn't great, and it was hard work but it was enjoyable. William also had two brothers who worked in the office in Enniskillen station, so the railways really were a way of life for the Gault family.
Someone else who has very fond memories of the railways is Caroline Guy, who is a daughter of former station master, Harry Taylor.
Born in County Leitrim, Caroline explained her father started as a junior clerk at the local station before being promoted to Station Master, first in Manorhamilton and then in Glenfarne, where Caroline's earliest memories were formulated.
Caroline lived in the Station House in Glenfarne with her father, her two sisters, Olive and Betty - her mother and sister, Jeanette had died in 1934 - and, with her Aunt Frances, who looked after them.
She has happy memories of her time there, but the family were soon moving again - this time to Enniskillen.
"I was five when we came up to Enniskillen. It was in 1940 when my father was promoted to Chief Clerk and, on 28th May of that year we departed for Enniskillen." Caroline reminisced.
From that day to this Caroline has lived in Enniskillen.
"After attending the Model School, I went to the Technical College (now the South-West College) and studied there.
Caroline worked as a book-keeper and with the Civil Service before getting a job at the Erne Hospital, as P.A. to Mr Lynch. "My days working at the Erne Hospital were the happiest of my working career", she added.
Caroline mentions that her sister, Olive also worked for the railways, which made it twice as sad for their family when the railways finally closed.
"It was very emotional for everybody. When the last goods vehicle left on the evening of 30th September 1957, there were a lot of people on the platform to bid farewell to the railways."
At the weekend Caroline and William were among about 50 members of the Irish Railway Record Society who made a journey from Sligo to Enniskillen tracing the route of the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway, which closed exactly 50 years ago later this month.
In Sligo, they were met by several former SLNCR employees who will be travelling with them along the route, as well as others who met up with them at the various stations along the way. They called at Glenfarne and Belcoo railway stations before arriving back in Enniskillen
Here, they took the opportunity to visit the Model Railway Exhibition at the Cathedral Hall and Headhunters Barber Shop & Railway Museum, the museum has several new exhibit, including the 'Lough Melvin' and 'Lough Erne' SLNCR locomotive nameplates.
